Photo taken in May 2012 shows a Chinese aircraft carrier cruising for a test on the sea. China's first aircraft carrier was delivered and commissioned to the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army on Sept. 25, 2012. The carrier, with the name "Liaoning" and hull number 16, was officially handed over to the Navy at a ceremony held in a naval base of northeast China's Dalian Port. (Xinhua/Li Tang)
Why China Is Building More Aircraft Carriers -- James R. Holmes, The Diplomat
Grainy photos of what appears to be a slice of the PLA Navy's first indigenously built aircraft carrier have been flying around the Internet the past few days. Of their veracity I have little doubt. China's leadership has openly proclaimed its plans to put a modest fleet of flattops to sea in the coming years. Chinese shipyards have adopted the Western practice of modular construction, meaning that they build the hull in sections, including many of the systems that make an inert hulk a living, fighting ship. They then bolt the sections together, lower the hull into the water, and add the superstructure and the rest of the equipment afterward. This speeds things up while adding efficiency to the shipbuilding process.
When I was a whippersnapper of a Naval Diplomat, I remember watching Aegis cruisers undergoing assembly at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and thinking that was a pretty nifty way to do things. Evidently the PLA Navy agrees.
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My Comment: The Chinese government has always publicly made a commitment to its citizens that it wants to become the regional superpower of Asia. Having a few aircraft carriers will insure this goal .... especially if they need to project influence in the South China Sea, the Strait of Malacca, and even in the Indian Ocean.
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